Chennai: The state government will soon unveil the Tamil Nadu urban housing and habitat policy in line with the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of ensuring access for all to adequate, safe and affordable housing and basic services and to improve slums by 2030, Deputy Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam said on Friday.
He also announced that 'Tamil Nadu Housing and Habitat Development for Urban Poor' programme, with World Bank assistance, would be launched to construct 38,000 tenements at a cost of Rs.4,647.50 crore in Chennai and surrounding areas for poor families living at river margins by adopting best resettlement practices.
In Tamil Nadu 48.45 per cent of population resides in urban areas and as per census 2011 report, 14.63 lakh families are living in slums. Presenting the budget for 2019 - 20, he said under the 'Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY- Urban)', construction of 5.85 lakh tenements at a cost of Rs.26,601.02 crore for urban slum families has been sanctioned since 2014-2015. The government would take up the construction of 1.97 lakh tenements in 2019-2020 under the PMAY (Urban). A sum of Rs.2,662.16 crore has been provided in the Budget Estimates 2019-2020 for this purpose.
Also, a project for Inclusive resilient and sustainable housing for the urban poor has been posed to the Asian Development Bank at a cost of Rs.5,000 crore for providing housing in areas other than Chennai and to create adequate stock of industrial and rental housing.
WB to provide funds for TN Shelter
The World Bank which has evaluated the Tamil Nadu Shelter Fund is likely to provide seed investment, Mr Panneerselvam said. The Tamil Nadu Shelter Fund has been registered with SEBI and has been set up to attract domestic and global investors providing 'Social Impact Investments'. The National Housing Bank is the knowledge partner and has been approached to invest Rs.500 crore in the fund, he said and added the fund would be deployed to create environment friendly, quality affordable housing for sale to the poor and middle class families.
The fund will also be used to set up affordable hostel facilities for working women to address their needs for good quality affordable and safe accommodation and affordable assisted living facilities for senior citizens and the differently abled. The government has taken up various housing activities through the Tamil Nadu Housing Board (TNHB), of which works are under progress for 20,789 units at an estimated cost of Rs.2,888.20 crore. A state land use policy is under formulation for promoting more efficient and sustainable use of scarce land resources.
